Prompts, Wishes, Dreams, Thoughts
by hpbrat2
Summary: Series of one-shots from prompts I decided to post. Will contain various pairing when there is a pairing. Rating to be safe, each chapter has a rating at the top for that specific chapter as well as any warnings. Requests welcome. Latest Chap: Sirius during the Azkaban years.
1. Sticks and Stones

A/N: Because I forgot before, though I have a general disclaimer on my profile, I do not own any of this, I am just playing in JKR's world. I am not in it to make money or anything else, just to amuse myself and anyone who chooses to read it. This disclaimer remains for the rest of the story so I do not have to post it again...and again...and again.

A/N2: If you would like to use any of the drabbles for a longer story, feel free, just PM me to let me know which one and link the story so I can read it. Thanks!

A/N3:There are mentions of past child abuse in this chapter. I do not, nor will I ever, condone it. I am simply using it to make a point in here. If you are uncomfortable with that, please feel free to not read it. Thank you.

A/N4: Last one, I promise. I will try to post at least one a week, but life may get crazy as school and work both start but I will do my best to try, most likely they will be posted on Saturday afternoon or Sunday nights. Thanks!

**Sticks and Stones - Hurt/Comfort/Drama - K+ - Harry Potter & Severus Snape**

Harry threw himself into an empty classroom, crouching into one of the dark corners, muttering to himself as he slammed his head repeatedly against the dirty wall. Consequently, the teen, bright emerald eyes shut tight in a fruitless attempt to stem his tears, did not notice when his Potion's Professor followed him in and knelt in front of him.

Severus listened closely, never having seen the 14-year-old break down. He had followed the distraught teen after having seen him rush from the Great Hall alone, especially after having had his name chosen from the Goblet the night before, and seeing the youngest Weasley boy completely act as if Potter was not there. What he heard shocked him.

"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me…sticks and stones can break my bones, but word will never hurt me…they can't hurt me. They can't. I won't let them," he sobbed out a curse. "No, no, sticks and stones not words. Not words," he muttered the final two words over and over as he began to rock in place.

Severus gently eased into the distraught teen's mind with little problem. He was horrified by what he saw. A large, walrus of a man back handing the child who chouldn't be more than 4 or 5 at the most, while screaming at him. 'Freak, Monster, Bastard, Demon, Abomination, Slut, Whore, Trouble, Fiend,' and so many more, some repeating, most not on various occasions. A moment later the vision switched. It was the night before, students muttering as he passed, 'Liar, Cheat, Attention-Seeker, Fake, Hypocrite,' and even more. He did not think there was a name under the sun this poor child had not been called. It moved too quickly through a serioes of memories, most he didn't catch more than a brief glimpse of, a few he did: Draco insulting his lack of family; his first day of potion's and being attacked by Severus; the youngest Weasley boy's fit's of jealousy; his guilt over killing Quirrell and getting his friends hurt; daily insults from his family.

He pulled out of the boy's mind and wrapped him in his arms, for the first time seeing Harry and not Potter's son. He cradled the teen close, one arm firmly around his much too slender waist, the other resting along his back, his hand cradling the bruised head gently. "Shh…you're alright," he said softly. "You're not alone and you're never going back. You're safe," he soothed repeatedly, trying to get the boy to hear his words.

Harry clung to him, the first voice to show him much needed kindness and love, a warm, strong body to help him face the world. He recognized the man, how could he not after four years of classes and countless detentions, but he was safe. Snarky, sarcastic, stern, yes, but safe. "Don't leave me," he begged into the man's chest as he began to calm slightly.

"I won't, child, I am here," Severus promised.


	2. Groceries

A/N: Implied SB/RL in this chapter, don't like, don't read.

**Groceries - Family/Humor - K+ - Harry Potter & Sirius Black**

Harry grabbed a second cart as he followed his godfather into the magical grocery store. He may only be 15, but it was necessary. "I'll meet you up front in 1 hour," he told the older man firmly.

"Okay!" Sirius took off toward the junk food aisle.

Harry sighed and quickly made his way through the bakery, produce section, deli and meat counter. He grabbed a few other things before making his way through the shelves, he knew exactly what they needed and knew which aisles that he had to go down and those he could skip. Finally he made his way to the dairy counter for the milks and cheeses that they needed from there. He had passed his godfather a few times. The man was practically running through the store, cart loaded with cakes, cookies, ice cream, candy, soda and all sorts of other things. He just rolled his eyes and continued on, ignoring the child in the man's body.

When they met back up at the front, nearly an hour exactly later, Harry searched through his godfather's cart, pulling out a few key things, knowing they still had junk food snacks at home that they hadn't finished from the previous trip.

"Harrrrrryyyy, what are you doing?" Sirius whined.

"I'm getting groceries, Sirius," he said simply as he began to place the items on the conveyor belt, the unwanted items floating back to their previous places on the shelf.

"But those are boring," he pouted, looking into Harry's cart.

"Sirius, don't make me tell Remy on you," he warned. "He said the next time you acted up at the store, you'd be on the couch for a month."

"You wouldn't," he gasped horrified.

The emerald eyes narrowed, ignoring the stares from everyone around them. "Watch me."

He pouted and began looking through the cart again. "Ooo, cream…and chocolate sauce! I wonder if Moony will let me use this as a lu-" Harry silenced him with a wave of his had, ignoring the older man's glare and the giggles from the girl at the cash register.

"It's easier this way. It saves everyone's sanity," was all he said.


	3. Cuddle

**Cuddle - Family/General - K - Harry Potter & Severus Snape**

Severus smiled as a messy black haired head poked up from under the covers. "Good morning, sweet boy," he said softly.

"Shh…sleepy time," the child muttered against his black t-shirt.

He chuckled. "Baby, it's 630. It's time to get up."

The 4-year-old shook his head and cuddled closer, practically laying on his chest now. "Washed las' nigh'. Ten mo'e mins."

"Very well," Severus obliged, pulling the boy the rest of the way onto his chest and wrapping his arms around him securely.

Never had he been one to indulge in cuddles with anyone, even as a child, before the potion's accident that had turned his newly adopted 16-year-old son into a tiny toddler. The child had craved the touches his older self had avoided at all costs and, if only to avoid tears or seeing the look of hurt in those big emerald eyes originally, Severus had indulged him. However, these morning cuddles had become somewhat of a treasured tradition over the past 3 weeks. The cuddles weren't relegated to the mornings, he though with a small smile. The boy would, however willingly, force cuddles on him several times a day as the child crawled into his lap as he graded papers, or as he tucked the tiny boy into his large bed (still not changed from his 16-year-old bed, unsure of when the accident would ware off).

He didn't know what it was about having the tiny, warm body curled up against his chest, so light, so fragile, so vulnerable, all his trust placed so easily, so carelessly. Yet at the same time, all sharp, bony angles, from his chin, to his elbows and knees. The child had no qualms about trusting him to protect him as he read or slept or was feeling under the weather or any other number of things.

"I love you, Papa," Harry's small, muffled by the t-shirt voice made its way to his ears, stirring him out of his reverie.

"I love you, too, Harry Baby."


	4. Foolish

**Foolish – Family/Hurt/Comfort – K - Harry Potter & Severus Snape**

Severus walked into the 13-year-old's room and froze in the doorway. The majority of his things were either strewn across the bed and floor, or tossed haphazardly into his trunk. For the normally ultra neat child, this was unusual in and of itself, however, it was the lack of the child in question, along with the lose piece of parchment on his bed that made Severus snap out of his shock.

He rushed to the bedside and scooped up the parchment. In hastily scrawled, messy handwriting, was a note from the child.

_Sir, _

_I'm sorry._

_I'm sorry I disobeyed you._

_I'm sorry I took up your time._

_I'm sorry you had to come looking for me._

_I'm sorry I got hurt and made you and Madame Pomfrey work on me._

_I'm sorry I got in your way._

_I'm sorry I tried to take Draco's place. He can have his room back now._

_I'm sorry I left the room a mess, I didn't have time to clean it up if I was going to get out of your way before lunch. I heard you telling Professor McGonagall that you wanted me out by then last night._

_I'm sorry I didn't realize it before you had to tell someone you were sick of me._

_I'm sorry I took your cloak without asking._

There was no signature, but he knew exactly who it was from: his messy headed, emerald eyed baby boy. Who else could believe the non-sense? Today was the boy's 12th birthday, he simply wanted him out for the afternoon while he wrapped his birthday presents and made the child's favorite dinner, he didn't want him out of his life.

Though, after the upbringing his son had had with his mother's monster of a sister and her family, and after the ups and downs that they had gone through this year, particularly at the end with the Philosopher's Stone. And who knew what his son had been told by his godson when they were in private or in a fight. It was a well known fact they still fought like cats and dogs, despite the civility they had with each other the majority of the time.

Quickly he took stock of what was missing from the boy's things. Only a cloak, one he had bought the boy the previous Christmas, and his old baby blanket that they had mended at the beginning of the year. He fought back the prickling in his eyes when he realized his son didn't believe that anything in the room belonged to him.

This morning's actions were so much clearer now: the clinginess, the constant stares as if trying to find something, the somber face when he thought he wasn't looking, and the fake smiles that didn't reach those expressive eyes when he did look. His son was trying to figure out if he wanted him or not. Neither of them were very affectionate with words, each unable to express them, but he thought he had shown him how much he cared and loved him. The long nights sitting beside his bed when he was ill, the late night hot chocolate by the fire after a nightmare, the evening cuddles on the couch, the homework sessions, watching him fly even when he had other work to do, brewing with him on afternoons and weekends.

Feeling more desperate than he had before, he cast a quick _Tempus_ to check the time and saw that it had been an hour since the child had gone into his room. Where could he have gotten off to in that amount of time? Floo wasn't likely as he couldn't reach the pot and he didn't like doing it alone, still clinging to his father's chest as he was carried on his hip. He summoned the Nimbus 2000 and it was in his hand in about a second, so that ruled out flying. Walking down to Hogsmede or through the forest were really the only options.

Severus grabbed his wand and took off in a near run to the Entrance Hall and across the large grounds of Hogwarts. He easily slipped out of the gate, it was partially open and from a very unusual burst of magic, meaning it was likely his son had gone through here. The child didn't know of the NightBus, so one of the shops was most likely.

"Professor!" He turned and saw the old man who ran Honeyduke's striding quickly toward him. He had grown attached to the tiny boy when they came in to Hogsmeade on occasion and always had a free Sugar Quill for him. It made sense that his son would go there first. "I was just on my way up to the castle. He's at the shop, fell asleep in back. Taynie said he cried himself to sleep when she asked if you knew where he was without saying a word."

"I believe he overheard a portion of a conversation and came to the wrong conclusions. Thank you for watching out for him."

"Oh, it's not a problem at all. He's welcome anytime. We just adore him."

"Do you mind if I just pick him up and bring him home?"

"Not at all. Come and visit us soon, though. It's always fun seeing him around the shop," he said as they entered the candy shop, reopening it as the walked in. "It's just through the left door, he should still be on the couch."

"Thank you," Severus said sincerely before walking back through. "How is he doing?" he asked Taynie softly.

"He is still asleep." She stood carefully with his thin form held against her chest. She was not a tall woman, but she carried him as easily as a small child. She transferred him over to his father in a smooth motion, keeping the boy asleep, with only a tiny whimper to show he was being moved.

Severus cradled him close, basking, for a moment, in how much he truly loved his son. It was a painful realization that he could have easily lost him so many times in the last few months. "Thank you, you have no idea how much this means. I don't know how to repay you."

"Just come by often and say hello, that's all I ask," she smiled as she stroked through is messy hair.

Severus promised to do so and carried him back to Hogwarts where he laid the child in his bed before curling up around him, afraid he would lose him again if he lost sight of him even for a second.

It was almost 2 hours later when the 12-year-old woke up. "Fa…Sir?" he asked softly, as if not believing his eyes.

"Yes, my child, you are with me. Home. Where you belong."

"I-I thought you didn't want me anymore," he whispered, his voice filled with pain as he diverted his gaze to his hands, which were playing with the sleeve of Severus's black robes.

"Harry," he started, but the boy didn't look up. "Harrison James Severus Potter-Snape," he said firmly, tilting the child's chin up. His voice softened as his eyes met tear filled emerald orbs. "You foolish child, I will always want you. You are my baby boy. My _son_. Nothing will ever take that away. I love you, my foolish, foolish child, and I always will."

He grunted as the minute weight pushed him onto his back as he was tackled into a tight hug. In a small voice from the crook of his neck where the wet face was buried, he heard, "I love you, too, Papa."


	5. Name

**Prompt 043 – Name – K – HP – General/Drama**

The-Boy-Who-Lived

The Heir of Slytherin

The Chosen One

Leader of the Golden Trio

The Golden Boy

Poster Boy for the Ministry of Magic

Son of Lily and James

Mr. Potter

Boy

Freak

Harry Potter

It was never, Just Harry.

Nor was it ever his full name, Harper James Potter-Black.

Yes, Black.

To be Sirius's heir, he had to carry the name.

Maybe the name was a mask. Yes. That must be it. It is who he must be or prove he is not. Society defines him by his name. But maybe, someday…

Harry Potter

Freak

Boy

Son of Lily and James

Poster Boy for the Ministry of Magic

The Golden Boy

Leader of the Golden Trio

The Chosen One

The Heir of Slytherin

The-Boy-Who-Lived

Yes, someday, he would add another.

The-Man-Who-Won.

Then he would be free.

Just Harry.


	6. I Promise

**A/N: For those of you who have waited this long, I appreciate your patience! I have decided to do something different (for me) for this story and will be taking requests. If you have any prompt or pairing or both that you would like to see, I am open to trying it. I'm also hoping to be able to update 3 or 4 times a week at least. With the requests, if you want a crossover, but I don't know it or have never seen/read it, I will not write to it, but I will PM you and let you know. Everything else is open. Thanks!**

**I Promise - T - Harry/Draco - Romance/Hurt/Comfort**

Harry curled up a little more against his boyfriend's side, sated, sleepy, but shockingly contemplative as he always was after sex. "Hey, Dray?" he asked, lightly tracing designs on his dozing dominant's bare chest.

"Hmm?" the blond questioned with a grunt.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like if I'd taken your hand from the beginning?"

The taller teen lifted his head from the pillow to look down at the top of the black, messy head cushioned over his left pectoral. "Sometimes, why?"

He shrugged and they were quiet again for a few minutes. "Do you think Sev would have noticed sooner?" he asked nearly inaudibly. "Maybe if I'd been a snake instead of a lion, he would have been able to look past my dad in my looks and see me. Maybe I would have gotten out of there sooner. Maybe Sirius wouldn't have died. Maybe we would have gotten together sooner. Maybe –"

He was cut off as Draco pulled him up to lay on the pillow facing each other and quieted him with a gentle kiss. "There is no point in 'maybes', 'Ry. Hindsight is perfect. There's a lot of things we could have done differently, yeah, but who's to say we would have gotten to this same spot if we hadn't gone through everything we did before?" He kissed him lightly once more.

"Draco?"

"Hmm?" he asked in a light doze once more.

"Do you promise?" he asked hesitantly, terrified of whatever the answer was though he'd heard it every night since they got together the year previous.

He rolled over, carefully pinning the frail form beneath his own. He kissed him on the left temple. "I promise to protect you." He kissed the right temple. "I promise to cherish you." He kissed his forehead. "I promise to accept all of you." He kissed his left cheek. "I promise to give you all of me." He kissed the right cheek. "I promise to be ever faithful to you and only you." He kissed the tip of his nose. "I promise to stand by you through all the good times and the bad." He kissed his chin. "I promise to never lie to you and to always tell you the full truth." He pecked his lips in a brush of a kiss. "I promise to stand by you and support you through all of the struggles and challenges that accompany this life." He kissed him a little deeper this time, though it was still chaste. "I promise to see you only as Harry James Potter, Potter-Malfoy once we bond, and never think of you as any of those stupid hyphenated titles the public come up with for you." He kissed him even more passionately, even knowing it would not lead to anything further after what they'd already done that night. "I promise to love you forever, through this life and the next and whatever comes after that."

Harry gently pushed on one shoulder and the taller 19 year old rolled back onto his back, tugging the shorter onto his chest. "Love you, too," Harry murmured sleepily, finally able to relax after the promise.

"Sleep now, baby, I'm not going anywhere," Draco promised one more time before the breathing against his chest evened out and he knew his smaller lover was asleep. He smiled gently before drifting off himself.


	7. Expected

**A/N: Hey y'all, just a reminder, if you have any suggestions or want to see anything specific, let me know and I'll do my best. Here's the next one!**

**K – Expected – Harry/Severus – Family/Hurt/Comfort**

Severus watched the young boy in front of him. Sure the teen was 15 years old, but he was still just a young kid.

Harry James Potter.

The boy was such an enigma. He knew of the visions and dreams the Dark lord was sending the boy. He knew of the guilt the boy still felt over Cedric Diggory's death the year previous. He knew of the fear the boy felt for his godfather, friends, relatives, school mates, and even just the strangers on the street. The child was so full of negative emotions, yet, if he hadn't been in his mind on a regular basis to know these things, he never would have known. He hadn't known.

In the four and a half years that he'd know the boy, he had seen him as an arrogant, trouble making, energetic boy who threw himself whole-heartedly into everything he did. But it was just an act. The boy was a true Slytherin. His entire persona was an act. It was the act of the expected. Everything he did was because everyone expected it of him.

He began to walk around the potion's classroom to check on all of the other students in his 5th year potion's class. Though Harry's potion was perfect by the time he got to it, he said, making sure to keep his voice cool and even, "Potter, detention tonight at 6:30. Don't be late."

Harry glared, as expected, but nodded slightly. "Yes, sir."

Severus nodded slightly back knowing the boy understood. It wasn't a detention. It was 3 hours in which he could be himself. Where he could ignore all expectations and allow himself to embrace and feel everything that had happened, could happen, and was happening. He knew there would be tears, shouting, pacing, raving. But then he knew there would be at least a little peace in the child's heart as he lay on the couch, head pillowed in the potions master's lap and slept without worry for a change.

The rest of class went by quickly, Harry's friends complaining under their breath about the unfairness in the given detention. He just watched the humor in the boy's expressive eyes grow even as he sullenly agreed, as expected.

Maybe expectations were bad, but he knew the boy he'd come to see as his own son could handle it. If anything he knew he should expect the unexpected when it came to the Boy-Who-Lived.


	8. Blush

**Blush – T – Harry/Oliver – Romance/Friendship**

Harry paused as they entered in the doors of the Great Hall. All eyes turned to look at him and Oliver Wood, his boyfriend. "Sorry," he muttered as he turned a brilliant shade of red. They were taking Hagrid's place in bringing in the first years up to McGonagall from the train (Hagrid had had an accident with one of his creatures and was currently at St. Mungo's). She had insisted they enter before the first years, neglecting to mention the Headmaster would be giving a lecture on the importance of unity at the time.

The 14-year-old hurried to the closest seat that the Gryffindor table. Oliver fought back a chuckle at his little lover's embarrassment. Once they had reached their seats and Dumbledore had started speaking once more, he leaned over and kissed the still blushing boy on the cheek before whispering, "You are so adorable when you blush."

As predicted the blush deepened, even as Harry leaned back into the 17-year-old's chest.

Oliver looped an arm around the thin waist of his seeker and against his ear breathed, "I can't wait to see just how far down it spreads later tonight. Come to my rooms after the feast and we'll see _exactly _how far we can make it cover."

He chuckled quietly as the first years entered the room in their lines, glancing curiously at Harry who was trying, and failing, to hid his embarrassment against his boyfriend's broad chest. There was just something so endearing about how easily embarrassed his young lover could get and something so erotic about that lovely dark blush he'd discovered shortly after the boy had moved in with him, to get away from his relatives, the day after his birthday earlier that summer. One thing was for certain, though, he would not let his little minx go without a fight.


	9. Heads Carolina, Tails California

**A/N: Just as an FYI, I don't own anything, from the characters to the locations to anything else you recognize. That includes this segment's prompt "Heads Carolina, Tails California" a song by Jo Dee Messina.**

**As always, please leave prompts, ideas, thoughts, even if you just want to say if you like it or hate it, I love hearing feedback. Thanks, lovelies!**

**Heads Carolina, Tails California – K – Harry/Sirius – Family/General**

"Come on in," Harry called at the knock on his bedroom door at Grimmauld. Sirius had insisted this summer that, as his godson, he deserved his own bedroom, not being forced to share with Ron or anyone else. Harry couldn't lie, he definitely loved the feeling of having a room to call his own. He had had Sirius and Bill both ward his room against nearly everyone but the two of them and himself. Others could come in, but not without some high permission from him, at least more than just a quick "enter."

"Hey, Pup," Sirius said coming in and flopping on the bed next to his godson who was sitting on the bed working on his charms homework, despite the fact that he had a perfectly fine desk against the wall facing out the window.

"What's up, Siri?"

"We are going on vacation."

"Vacation? Where to?'

"Just away from here."

"Oh, yeah? Any reason why?"

"I'm tired of the rain and the clouds and the freaking Dementors hanging around. We are going somewhere warm and sunny and green. So, heads or tails?" he grinned as he held up a US quarter minted the year Harry was born, just one of many coins that he'd collected during his time on the run from everything. He'd sent a new one to Harry every week, but never from the same country that he was currently in, though he and Harry had worked out a code early on about where he was so he would know. They had a whole drawer of them in each of their rooms, not to mention the ones that were scattered throughout the rest of the house. Ever since the beginning of the summer when Sirius had demanded the Harry move in with him directly after school let out, they'd taken to flipping a coin to make nearly every decision from what to have for dinner to which prank to play to where to go on vacation, apparently.

"Which is which?"

"You pick, just make it warm."

He laughed and looked around the room at the maps that they had decorating the walls around his room. There was a different map for each of the different continents, close up maps of about 30 different countries, and several for large cities of the world including London, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Rome, Paris, and Moscow. He looked around the room for a few minutes before glancing at his godfather and stealing the quarter. "Heads Carolina, tails California," he grinned before flipping the coin high in the air.

Sirius caught it and flipped it on his left wrist, keeping it covered with his right hand. "This weeks laundry duty on heads,"

"Dishes on tails."

Both leaned over the hand and laughed as it was tails. "Guess we're going to California," Harry grinned.

Sirius laughed. "Moony!"

"What!" they heard shouted from down the hall.

"You get laundry this week!"

He swore. "Dammit, Sirius, why do you bet chores on everything?"

He laughed. "Because we're packing for a trip!"


	10. Control

**A/N: This used to be posted under my old account as an iTunes drabble, only much shorter (hard to believe, I know) and with many more grammar mistakes than now. **

**Control – Friendship/Drama – K+ - Harry Potter & Draco Malfoy**

Harry grabbed his driver's license off the bedside table, his leather jacket off the back of his wobbly wooden desk chair, and left his dorm room.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked as Ron stood up to stop his best friend from leaving the Gryffindor Common Room yet again. It was the 4th time that week that he had disappeared just after curfew and the professors were starting to get curious about his disappearances, not that anyone could tell them where he actually went.

"Out," was all the raven replied, his usual answer when anyone asked him the fated question.

He sent his Patronus on ahead of him, signaling his new and, most unlikely, best friend to meet him in the Entrance Hall as soon as possible even as he ran downstairs.

He met with the blond Slytherin in the designated in a mostly hidden alcove near the Great Hall and together they left the castle doors with only the soft brush of the door on the stone floor as noise that they were leaving. They were both back for their 8th year and they were sick and tired of being told what to do with the rest of their lives.

The duo ran to the edge of the grounds where Harry's motorbike was waiting about 100 meters inside the Forbidden Forest. Draco climbed on the back as Harry kick started the bike and, with the roar of the engine, they took off into the night.


	11. Life

**A/N: Anything you recognize is not mine, both the characters and the song. This is a drabble I wrote forever ago, slightly expanded, and decided to repost from my old account to this one since I deleted it off of that account. Enjoy!**

**It's My Life**** - Hurt/Comfort/Family- K+ - Harry Potter & Draco Malfoy**  


"This ain't a song for the broken hearted," were the first words out of the radio that Draco flipped on absently as he head to his usual spot in the leather arm chair in front of the fire in the Slytherin Common Room. It was a habit he had picked up on about a month into their relationship and had never bothered to shake. He sat and listened for a minute to the words of his lover's favorite song.

"It's my life! It's now or never!" the voice on the radio sang confidently.

The blond jumped up. "This is my life!" he stated purposefully, confident in that fact for the first time in nearly 3 months.

He blushed as everyone in the Common Room turned and looked at him. "What?" he asked as he left the predominantly green room, pretending to be his cool, calm and collected self. Pretending like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Pretending like everything was as it had been before the war. Before everything had gone to hell. He sped his steps up a bit, not noticeable to the average student, still, however.

Once in the stone wall lined hallway, he dashed out to the Quidditch Pitch. Just outside of the normally cheerful, energetic stadium, was a monument. Around this monument were graves in which the martyrs and victims of the final battle of the war here at Hogwarts were buried or honored. He stopped by the least conspicuous grave. It was nearly hidden in one of the back corners by request of its owner via note delivered post mortem. It was small, nearly insignificant when seen next to the grandeur of many of the grave markings around it. It was also the first one that nearly everyone visited when coming out, though the man buried underneath would have hated that. Hated the attention that everyone was giving him, even in death.

"I'm going to live now, Harry." Draco promised the cool, granite headstone. "I will. It's my life. I only have one to live and I will be up with you and Mum and Dad soon enough." He glanced heaven ward, silently praying to his mother that she would watch over the tiny raven-haired boy until he was reunited with them sometime in the future. "I can last until it's my turn. There is nothing stopping me from living anymore. I only get this one chance." He knew it wouldn't be easy. He knew he would have to make himself continue on some days, but he also knew that there was no way he was going to go back to the shell that he had been since the funerals. He knew that, if he did, Harry would likely come back just to kick his ass into gear and tell him to make something of himself.

He started back toward the castle, heart lighter than it had been in months. Shoulders square and strong, unburdened from guilt that he didn't even realize he had been carrying around by not living up to what he knew to be their expectations. A smile graced his eyes and, nearly unnoticeably, the corners of his mouth as he remembered all of the good times that he had had here at Hogwarts both with and without his lover.

Unbeknownst to the boy, three people watched him walk back inside. "He's going to be fine," the smallest whispered into the unseen wind that was tousling his wild raven locks. The beautiful blonde woman on his right kissed his temple at the pronouncement while the equally blond, aristocratic man on his left squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "He will be with us in his own time. Until them, we watch and protect," the elder man promised before the three faded out of view.


	12. Comparison for 917brat

**A/N: Hey y'all here's another one for you. This is for 917brat who requested either Bill/Harry or Charlie/Harry pairing. This one is Charlie/Harry, but I'll probably have a Bill/Harry one up soon as well as it is one of my favorite pairings. Anyway, thanks be to 917brat for the inspiration for the pairing and letting me go for it and thanks to you all for reading! Feel free to request anything and I will do my best to oblige. **

**Comparison – Romance – K - Harry Potter & Charlie Weasley**

Harry snuggled closer to the man, his lover, next to him on the couch. The man, a dragon tamer by profession, was opposites in nearly every way to the young man curled up against him. Where Charlie, our dragon tamer, was tanned (well, so freckled it looked tan), Harry was fair despite all the time he spent outside. Where Charlie was solidly built with broad shoulders, a thick torso, and bulging muscles in his arms and legs, Harry was lithe, lean. Where Charlie was outgoing and outspoken, Harry preferred to be silent, observing everything around him (unless you get him riled, then the world had better watch out). Where Charlie was second out of seven, Harry was an only child. Where Charlie's hair was a bright, vibrant red from spending so much time in the sun, Harry's was black as night, shining almost blue in the sunlight. Where Charlie preferred an eclectic mix of clothing in his wardrobe, varying from tunics to t-shirts, to dress shirts with whatever he pulled out for on bottom always standing out in a crowd, Harry was nearly always in cargos and a fitted t-shirt, nearly anonymous if one didn't know to watch for him.

But, to them, these differences made them stronger, they didn't break them apart.

However, it was the similarities that struck everyone every time the couple made their way around the Reserve where Charlie worked as a tamer and Harry as a healer (to the humans, not the dragons). It was the way that their bodies always seemed to be turned slightly toward their partner. It was the way they seemed so graceful and at peace when flying through the air, no matter the mode of transportation. It was the way they anticipated each other's needs before the other even realized they needed it. It was the warning glare whenever anyone tried to flirt with their partner. It was the casual touches that communicated so much: the brushes of their hands, the pushing aside of the bangs, the trail of fingers over a shoulder as they passed the other sitting down, the chaste kisses neither seemed to even notice.

Yes. They were different. But they were them. And that's all that mattered.

Harry smiled as he looked at the diamond embedded in the platinum band on his left ring finger resting on Charlie's thigh. Nothing else mattered but them.


	13. Water

**A/N: General Disclaimer still in effect. This piece, though, belongs to me. I wrote it during free write in my creative writing class. Cheers.**

**Water – General/Angst – K – Sirius Black**

Drip...drip...drip, he could hear the steady splash of the water, but he didn't know where it was coming from. He was so thirsty, so very thirsty. He couldn't remember the last time that he'd had something to wet his sandpaper mouth. The dripping of the water was torture.

He imagined a time before being locked in this cell when he could play in the lake near the school. When he could swim in its icy waters at the start and end of the school year and, occasionally, in the middle of the year on a dare.

He imagined the running water of the shower he had been denied for so long. The warm spray cascading from the head mounted on the wall and pouring so very many single droplets on his now matted but formerly soft locks. He imagined those warm droplets landing on his shoulders and rolling down the planes of his torso, then limbs, before splashing onto the floor.

Drip...drip...drip, he could almost imagine the cold October rain as it fell from the dark sky. Icy and unrelenting in nature, but oh so divine after sweating and overheating at practice. He could feel the chill of the cold drops running down his spine as he watched the drops splash into the lake near his favorite thinking spot.

He could almost imagine, almost remember, the break of her water just before his godson was born. The terror he felt at being the only one there and unable to get ahold of his best friend. He didn't know how to help her - her, his best friend's wife, the girl who had become a little sister to him.

He could almost remember, if he strained hard enough, the screams of his infant godson as the Healer washed him up for the first time after birth.

But the thoughts never remained. All he had were the fleeting memories of the water he longed for and dreamed of. All he had was the hope that someday he would be free to experience life's pleasures again in the form of water, something he had so taken advantage of previously. All he had were the empty promises of those who had long forgotten he was there. All he had was the steady dripping from the unknown water source. Maddening and hope giving all at once.

Drip...drip...drip...


End file.
